Hello, everybody. Before I begin I just
want to express on behalf of the American people our deepest condolences
to the Republic of Korea and the families of all those whoíve seen their
loved ones lost when a ferry sank within the last couple of days.

Obviously, information is still coming
in. We know that many of the victims of this terrible tragedy were
students. And American Navy personnel and Marines have already been on
the scene helping the search and rescue. As one of our closest allies,
our commitment to South Korea is unwavering in good times and in bad,
and that's something I'll underscore during my visit to Seoul next week.

Before I take questions I'd also like to
say a few words about how the Affordable Care Act is now covering more
people at less cost than most would have predicted just a few months
ago.

The first open enrollment period under
this law ended a little over two weeks ago. And as more data comes in,
we now know that the number of Americans whoíve signed up for private
insurance in the marketplaces has grown to 8 million people -- 8 million
people. Thirty-five percent of people who enrolled through the federal
marketplace are under the age of 35. All told, independent experts now
estimate that millions of Americans who were uninsured have gained
coverage this year -- with millions more to come next year and the year
after.

Weíve also seen signs that the Affordable
Care Act is bringing economic security to more Americans. Before this
law added new transparency and competition to the individual market,
folks who bought insurance on their own regularly saw double-digit
increases in their premiums. That was the norm. And while we suspect
that premiums will keep rising, as they have for decades, we also know
that since the law took effect health care spending has risen more
slowly than at any time in the past 50 years.

In the decade before the Affordable Care
Act, employer-based insurance rose almost 8 percent a year. Last year,
it grew at half that rate. Under this law, real Medicare costs per
person have nearly stopped growing. The life of the Medicare Trust Fund
has been extended by 10 years. And the independent Congressional Budget
Office now expects premiums for plans on the marketplace to be 15
percent lower than originally predicted.

So those savings add up to more money that
families can spend at businesses, more money that businesses can spend
hiring new workers. And the CBO now says that the Affordable Care Act
will be cheaper than recently projected. Lower costs from coverage
provisions will shrink our deficits by an extra $100 billion.

So the bottom line is, under the
Affordable Care Act, the share of Americans with insurance is up, the
growth of health care costs is down. Hundreds of millions of Americans
who already have insurance now have new benefits and protections from
free preventive care to freedom from lifetime caps on your care. No
American with a preexisting condition like asthma or cancer can be
denied coverage. No woman can be charged more just for being a woman.
Those days are over. And this thing is working.

Iíve said before, this law wonít solve all
the problems in our health care system. We know we've got more work to
do. But we now know for a fact that repealing the Affordable Care Act
would increase the deficit, raise premiums for millions of Americans,
and take insurance away from millions more -- which is why, as I've said
before, I find it strange that the Republican position on this law is
still stuck in the same place that it has always been.

They still canít bring themselves to admit
that the Affordable Care Act is working. They said nobody would sign
up; they were wrong about that. They said it would be unaffordable for
the country; they were wrong about that. They were wrong to keep trying
to repeal a law that is working when they have no alternative answer for
millions of Americans with preexisting conditions who would be denied
coverage again, or every woman who would be charged more for just being
a woman again.

I know every American isnít going to agree
with this law. But I think we can agree that itís well past time to
move on as a country and refocus our energy on the issues that the
American people are most concerned about -- and that continues to be the
economy. Because these endless, fruitless repeal efforts come at a
cost. The 50 or so votes Republicans have taken to repeal this law
could have been 50 votes to create jobs by investing in things like
infrastructure or innovation. Or 50 votes to make it easier for
middle-class families to send their kids to college. Or 50 votes to
raise the minimum wage, or restore unemployment insurance that they let
expire for folks working hard to find a new job.

The point is the repeal debate is and
should be over. The Affordable Care Act is working. And I know the
American people donít want us spending the next two and a half years
refighting the settled political battles of the last five years. They
sent us here to repair our economy, to rebuild our middle class, and to
restore our founding promise of opportunity -- not just for a few, but
for all. And as President, thatís exactly what I intend to keep doing
as long as Iím in this office.

With that, Iíll take some questions.
Letís see who we got. Kathleen Hennessey of the LA Times.

Question: Thanks, Mr. President. It sounds
like thereís been some development in the Ukraine talks in Geneva. Iím
just wondering if you could describe your level of confidence in what
this agreement is and how you can be sure that Russia will follow
through, given some of the remarks from President Putin this morning.

President Obama: I donít think we can be
sure of anything at this point. I think there is the possibility, the
prospect that diplomacy may deescalate the situation and we may be able
to move towards what has always been our goal, which is let the
Ukrainians make their own decisions about their own lives.

There was a meeting in Geneva --
representatives of the Ukrainian government, the Russian government, the
EU, as well as the United States. It was a lengthy, vigorous
conversation. My understanding is, is that the Ukrainian Prime
Foreign** Minister gave a detailed and thorough presentation about the
reforms that they intend to introduce, including reforms that provide
assurances for Ukrainians who live in eastern and southern Ukraine that
they will be fully represented, that their rights will be protected,
that Russian speakers and Russian natives in Ukraine will have the full
protection of the law. And my understanding, based on what Iíve heard,
is that there was an acknowledgement within the meeting that the
Ukrainian government in Kyiv had gone out of its way to address a range
of the concerns that may have existed in southern and eastern Ukraine.

There was a promising public statement
that indicated the need to disarm all irregular forces and militias and
groups that have been occupying buildings. There was an offer of
amnesty to those who would willingly lay down their arms, evacuate those
buildings, so that law and order could be restored in eastern and
southern Ukraine.

The Russians signed on to that statement.
And the question now becomes will, in fact, they use the influence that
theyíve exerted in a disruptive way to restore some order so that
Ukrainians can carry out an election, move forward with the
decentralization reforms that theyíve proposed, stabilize their economy,
and start getting back on the path of growth and democracy and that
their sovereignty will be respected.

Weíre not going to know whether, in fact,
thereís follow-through on these statements for several days. And so
today I spoke with Chancellor Merkel; later on in the day Iím going to
be speaking to David Cameron. Weíre going to be consulting with our
European allies. Over the last week, we have put in place additional
consequences that we can impose on the Russians if we do not see actual
improvement of the situation on the ground. And we are coordinating now
with our European allies.

My hope is that we actually do see
follow-through over the next several days. But I donít think given past
performance that we can count on that, and we have to be prepared to
potentially respond to what continue to be efforts of interference by
the Russians in Eastern and Southern Ukraine.

If, in fact, we do see improvements, then
that will obviously be a positive. In the meantime, weíre going to make
sure that we continue to help the Ukrainian government -- working with
the IMF, the Europeans and others -- to stabilize their economy and to
start reforming it. Weíre going to continue to work with our NATO
allies to make sure that they are assured that weíre going to meet our
Article 5 obligations and that they are secure.

And as Iíve said before -- I think I had
an interview with Major yesterday in which I mentioned this whole
exercise by the Russians is not good for Russia either. There are, I
think, a number of articles today indicating the degree to which an
economy that was already stuck in the mud is further deteriorating
because of these actions.

And in my conversations with President
Putin, Iíve emphasized the same thing, that we have no desire to see
further deterioration of the Russian economy. On the other hand, we are
going to continue to uphold the basic principle of sovereignty and
territorial integrity for all countries; and that thereís a way for
Ukraine to be independent, to be sovereign, and to have positive
relationships with both the West and the East, with both its European
neighbors and its Russian neighbors. And thatís our primary concern.

Maria PeŮa, La Opiniůn.

Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Iíve got a
hot spot for you here in the U.S. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor
said -- or claimed that you havenít learned how to work with them. And
heís angry that youíre attacking the GOP on the lack of movement on
immigration reform. So I was wondering how you respond to that.

And the second part to that, right now you
have hunger strikers across the street demanding relief for undocumented
immigrants. And I was wondering if you can dispel the rumors or if
thereís a leak from the White House that you will make some sort of
announcement in the coming weeks to expand that relief for the
undocumented. Thank you.

President Obama: Well, I actually had a
very pleasant conversation with Mr. Cantor yesterday.

Question: Really?

President Obama: I did. Youíre always kind of surprised by the mismatch between press releases
and the conversation. I wished him happy Passover. And what I said to
him privately is something that I would share with him -- that Iíve said
publicly, which is there is bipartisan support for comprehensive
immigration reform. It would strengthen our economy, it would help with
our security, and it would provide relief to families who -- many of
whom have lived here for years and who have children and family members
who are U.S. citizens; and that Congress should act; and that right now
whatís holding us back is House Republican leadership not willing to go
ahead and let the process move forward.

So it was a pretty friendly conversation.
I think in his press release, I gather he was referring to the
observation that weíd made a day earlier that it had now been a year
since the Senate had passed a strong bipartisan bill, and that although
we had heard a lot of talk about the House Republicans being interested
in doing something, nothing had happened yet, and suggesting that we
need some urgency here. I still feel the same way.

I know there are Republicans in the House,
as there are Republicans in the Senate, who know this is the right thing
to do. I also know itís hard politics for Republicans because there are
some in their base that are very opposed to this. But what I also know
is that there are families all across the country who are experiencing
great hardship and pain because this is not getting resolved. I also
know that there are businesses around the country that could be growing
even faster, that our deficits could be coming down faster, that we
would have more customers in our shops, if we get this thing resolved.

We know what the right thing to do is.
Itís a matter of political will. Itís not any longer a matter of
policy. And Iím going to continue to encourage them to get this done.

As far as our actions, Jeh Johnson, our
new head of the Department of Homeland Security, has been talking to
everybody -- law enforcement, immigrant rights groups -- to do a
thorough-going review of our approach towards enforcement. And weíre
doing that in consultation with Democrats and Republicans and with any
interested party.

I do think that the system we have right
now is broken. Iím not alone in that opinion. The only way to truly
fix it is through congressional action. We have already tried to take
as many administrative steps as we could. Weíre going to review it one
more time to see if thereís more that we can do to make it more
consistent with common sense and more consistent with I think the
attitudes of the American people, which is we shouldnít be in the
business necessarily of tearing families apart who otherwise are
law-abiding.

And so let me --

Question: Do you have a time?

President Obama: I wonít get into timing
right now because Mr. Johnson is going to go ahead and do that review.

Tamara Keith.

Question: So you -- regarding the Affordable
Care Act, I think you --

President Obama: Yes, letís talk about
that.

Question: Since you brought it up. I think everyone agrees that it has flaws. But Democrats
have been sort of reluctant in Congress to reopen the conversation, and
Republicans have been more than happy to reopen the conversation but in
a different way. Now that, as you say, itís here to stay, there are so
many people that signed up, in this environment is it possible to do the
kind of corrections that the business community and many others would
like to see -- sort of small, technical corrections?

President Obama: It is absolutely possible,
but it will require a change in attitude on the part of the
Republicans.

I have always said from the outset that on
any large piece of legislation like this, there are going to be things
that need to be improved, need to be tweaked. I said that I think the
day I signed the bill. And I don't think thereís been any hesitation on
our part to consider ideas that would actually improve the legislation.
The challenge we have is, is that if you have certain members in the
Republican Party whose view is making it work better is a concession to
me, then it's hard in that environment to actually get it done.

And I recognize that their party is going
through the stages of grief -- anger and denial and all that stuff --
and we're not at acceptance yet. But at some point, my assumption is,
is that there will be an interest to figure out how do we make this work
in the best way possible.

We have 8 million people signed up through
the exchanges. That doesnít include the 3 million young people who are
able to stay on their parentsí plan. It doesnít include the 3 million
people who benefited from expansions to Medicaid. So if my math is
correct, that's 14 million right there. Youíve got another 5 million
people who signed up outside of the marketplaces but are part of the
same insurance pool. So we've got a sizable part of the U.S. population
now in the first -- for the first time in many cases, in a position to
enjoy the financial security of health insurance.

And I'm meeting them as I'm on the road.
I saw a woman yesterday -- young woman, maybe 34, with her mom and her
dad, and sheís got two small kids and self-employed husband, and was
diagnosed with breast cancer. And this isnít an abstraction to her.
She is saving her home. She is saving her business. She is saving her
parentsí home, potentially, because sheís got health insurance, which
she just could not afford.

And the question now becomes if, in fact,
this is working for a lot of people but there are still improvements to
make, why are we still having a conversation about repealing the whole
thing, and why are we having folks say that any efforts to improve it
are somehow handing Obama a victory? This isnít about me. And my hope
is, is that we start moving beyond that. My suspicion is that probably
will not happen until after November because it seems as if this is the
primary agenda item in the Republican political platform.

But hereís what I know: The American
people would much rather see us talk about jobs, would much rather see
us talk about high college costs, would much rather see us discussing
how we can rebuild our roads and our bridges and our infrastructure and
put people back to work. Theyíd much rather see us talk about how weíd
boost wages and boost incomes and improve their individual family bottom
lines.

And if the Republicans want to spend the
entire next six months or year talking about repealing a bill that
provides millions of people health insurance without providing any
meaningful alternative, instead of wanting to talk about jobs and the
economic situation of families all across the country, that's their
prerogative. At some point I think theyíll make the transition. That's
my hope, anyway. If not, we're just going to keep on doing what we're
doing, which is making it work for people all across the country.

I'm sorry, I'm going to say one last thing
about this, just because this does frustrate me: States that have
chosen not to expand Medicaid for no other reason than political spite.
Youíve got 5 million people who could be having health insurance right
now at no cost to these states -- zero cost to these states -- other
than ideological reasons. They have chosen not to provide health
insurance for their citizens. That's wrong. It should stop. Those
folks should be able to get health insurance like everybody else.

Isaac, from Politico. Where are you,
Isaac? There you are.

Question: Thank you, Mr. President. Given all
that you were just saying about the Affordable Care Act, do you think
it's time for Democrats to start campaigning loudly and positively on
the benefits of Obamacare? Will you lead that charge?

And on Ukraine, youíve said in other
situations -- Iran, for example -- that the military option remains on
the table even as talks go on. Is the military option on the table with
Russia? And if so, would that be through NATO forces, through lethal
aid to Ukraine?

President Obama: Now, keep in mind I think
Iíve been very clear that military options are not on the table in
Ukraine because this is not a situation that would be amenable to a
clear military solution. What we have to do is to create an environment
in which irregular forces disarm, that the seizing of buildings cease,
that a national dialogue by Ukrainians -- not by Russians, not by
Americans or anybody else, but by Ukrainians -- takes place. They move
forward with reforms that meet the interests of the various groups
within Ukraine, they move forward with elections, and they start getting
their economic house in order. Thatís whatís going to solve the
problem.

And so obviously, Russia right now still
has its forces amassed along the Ukrainian-Russian border as a gesture
of intimidation. And it is our belief -- and not ours alone -- but I
think broad portions of the international community believe that
Russiaís hand is in the disruptions and chaos that weíve been seeing in
southern and eastern Ukraine. But there is an opportunity for Russia to
take a different approach. We are encouraging them to do so.

In the meantime, weíre going to prepare
additional responses should Russia fail to take a different course.
Weíve already had an impact on their economy that is well documented.
It could get significantly worse. But we donít have an interest in
hurting ordinary Russians just for the sake of it. Our strong
preference would be for Mr. Putin to follow through on what is a glimmer
of hope coming out of these Geneva talks. But weíre not going to count
on it until we see it. And in the meantime, weíre going to prepare what
our other options are.

With respect to the Affordable Care Act,
my point is that weíve been having a political fight about this for five
years. We need to move on to something else. Thatís what the American
people are interested in. I think that Democrats should forcefully
defend and be proud of the fact that millions of people like the woman I
just described who I saw in Pennsylvania yesterday weíre helping because
of something we did. I donít think we should apologize for it, and I
donít think we should be defensive about it. I think there is a strong,
good, right story to tell.

I think what the other side is doing and
what the other side is offering would strip away protections from those
families and from hundreds of millions of people who already had health
insurance before the law passed, but never knew if the insurance company
could drop them when they actually needed it, or women who were getting
charged more just because they were a woman. Iím still puzzled why
theyíve made this their sole agenda item when it comes to our politics.
Itís curious.

But what I intend to talk about is what
the American people are interested in hearing: Our plans for putting
people back to work; our plans for making sure our economy continues to
innovate; our plans to make sure that, as I discussed yesterday, weíre
training people for the jobs that are out there right now and making
better use of our community colleges and linking them up with
businesses; and how weíre going to continue to bring manufacturing back
the way we have over the last several years; and how weíre going to put
more money in the pockets of ordinary people.

So if they want to -- if Republicans want
to spend all their time talking about repealing a law thatís working,
thatís their business. I think what Democrats should do is not be
defensive, but we need to move on and focus on other things that are
really important to the American people right now.

David Jackson.

Question: Yes, sir. Thank you. One reason the
Republicans talk about it is there are people who object to the law who
said theyíve had problems with the law, and there are a significant
number of opponents of the law. I guess my question is, what makes you
think a significant majority of the American people, of voters, will
accept this law? Or are we destined to see health care as a 50/50, red
state/blue state argument for years to come?

President Obama: I think youíre mixing up
two things here, David. You said there are people who have seen
problems with the law. Thatís not 50 percent of the American people.
There may have been folks who have been affected in ways that they
werenít happy about -- by the law. That is a far smaller number than
the millions of people whoíve been signed up. That doesnít mean we
shouldnít be concerned about it. Thatís an area where, as I said to
Tamara, we should be open to other ways that we can make it even
better. So thatís objective facts and real problems out there.

The other side of it is just polling,
right? Whatís the general opinion of the law -- which is attached to
general opinions about me or about Democrats and partisanship in the
country generally?

My view is that the longer we see the law
benefiting millions of people, the more we see accusations that the law
is hurting millions of people being completely debunked -- as some of
you in the press have done -- and the more the average American who
already has health insurance sees that itís actually not affecting them
in an adverse way, then it becomes less of a political football -- which
is where I want it to be. This shouldnít be a political football. This
should be something that we take for granted, that in this country you
should be able to get affordable health care regardless of how wealthy
you are.

Now, the larger issue about whether we can
move past the polarization and sort of the bitter political debates
between Democrats and Republicans, of which Obamacare is just one small
part, thatís going to take more time. But itís not for lack of trying
on my part. And I think that I speak for all Democrats in saying we
would much prefer a constructive conversation with the Republicans about
how do we get some stuff done, and letís focus on some areas that the
American people really care about.

On jobs, we know that infrastructure would
put people back to work right now and it would improve our economy for
the long term. It didn't used to be a partisan issue. Why arenít we
coming up with a way to make sure that weíre rebuilding our roads and
our bridges, and improving our air traffic control system? Thereís no
reason that has to be political. There really isnít any ideological
disagreement on that. And I guarantee you after this winter, if you
look at the potholes that are the size of canyons all across big chunks
of the United States, that people would like to see an infrastructure
bill. Letís get it done.

Question: How long before health care ceases to
become a political football, do you think? Are we talking years?
Months?

President Obama: I think itís hard to say.
Itís interesting, I spoke at the LBJ Library the other day, and most of
us werenít around to pay real close attention to those debates, or
they're pretty distant now in the past. Apparently it took several
years before people realized, hey, Medicare actually works and itís
lifting a lot of seniors out of despair and poverty.

So weíve been through this cycle before.
It happens each and every time we make some strides in terms of
strengthening our commitments to each other and we expand some of these
social insurance programs.

Thereís a lot of fear-mongering and a lot
of political argument and debate, and a lot of accusations are flung
back and forth about socialized medicine and the end of freedom. And
then it turns out that, you know what, itís working for a lot of folks,
and we still live in a free-market society and the Constitution is
intact. And then we move on. And I don't know how long itís going to
take. But in the meantime, how about us focusing on some things that
the American people really care about?